MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

7/31 Soto to Rangers

It’s now official. Geovany Soto moved up in the standings, traded by the Cubs to the Rangers for Minor League right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham and a player to be named or cash consideration. Soto, 29, has been in the Cubs system since he was drafted in 2001. The trade was reported Monday night as Soto was pulled from the game after the Pirates sixth inning, but wasn’t finalized until Tuesday morning.

As he left the game Monday, Soto was greeted in the dugout by handshakes and hugs from his teammates. He was batting .199 this season in 52 games this season. He missed time because of a torn meniscus in his left knee. The 2008 National League Rookie of the Year, Soto was being paid $4.3 million this year, and on track to go to arbitration for the third time this offseason.

“When you get a good feel with a catcher, that’s hard to replace,” Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija said. “We’ll make sure we get [Steve Clevenger] back there to catch all my flat grounds and my bullpens.”

The defending American League champion Rangers lead the West division by 3 1/2 games.

The Cubs were expected to call up catcher Welington Castillo from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday with Clevenger taking over as the regular catcher. Clevenger was in the weight room, preparing in case he was needed to pinch hit when he got word that he had to get into the game to catch.

“It was a little strange, a little weird,” Clevenger said about Monday’s game. “Geo’s always been good to me. I’ve been with the Cubs since ’06, and in big league camp since ’08, and he always treated me really well. I’m going to miss him. I learned a lot for him and he treated me well.”

Brigham, 24, was 5-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 21 starts for Double-A Frisco this season. He went 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA (16 ER/40.0 IP) in 21 relief outings last season. In 2012, Brigham was named to the mid-season Texas League All-Star team.

He was selected in the sixth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Central Florida Christian Academy in Orlando, Fla. In 135 Minor League appearances, Brigham is 27-42 with one save and a 4.40 ERA.

— Carrie Muskat

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7 Comments

I do not regret seeing Soto depart as does Samardzija. Soto`s lack of offense has been glaring for a long while and I did not see all that much effort to modify his hitting approach or do much of anything to improve. It was boring observing his at-bats which too often led to weak ground balls or fly-outs.

Besides Dempster and Garza, the Cubs also have Baker, LaHair, DeJesus, Marmol and Camp to deal for prospects…….Soriano would be a good fit for Tampa as a DH…….if the Cubs do not get to trade Dempster, don’t expect Theo to offer him a contract…..Dempster might take a $12.5 mil one year offer from the Cubs, then hit the DL in 2013…………………Garza is still under Cubs control and any team still get a draft pick for Garza during the winter in a trade….but a team might get desperate and trade for Garza today…….Theo has to cash in on Garza trade…………two pitchers from Atlanta could be around by 2014 at Wrigley.

Seeing as you’ve been wrong on just about everything else, I think I’ll just wait for the deadline. speaking of which, what are you gonna do after the deadline. Trade rumors seem to be all you ever talk about.

ya we can google and read too man…. not every guy is going to be traded… relax… NO WAY Jackson should get a call up because of his approach at the plate. If anything I could see Jackson getting traded just be he peed down his leg this year. A 45% K rate should never be on a ML roster. PERIOD

What should Cubs Talk…talk about during such an awful season?? Trade rumors are part of the excitement especially when your team is so…BAD. At least Cubs Talk is very civil and I find speculating about trades, the future and lineups etc kind of fun. Now, I see he/she isn’t including DeJesus in the Sept 1st lineup, I don’t see any team trying to acquire DeJesus’s services, but we can hope as we can about Soriano being moved if not this season then over the winter….

Like I said Cubs Talk…at least YOU’RE civil. Besides, I would have to think MOST of us figured out you did not literally mean EVERY GUY is going to be traded. Nor did we think you were not relaxed. Rumors are rumors that’s all and it’s just talkin’, nothing wrong with that Cubs Talk. I hope you are enjoying the day, the rumors and are indeed RELAXED! :)

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